He refused and began to argue with school security and
administrators. When threatened with everything from
detention to expulsion, he accused the staff of racism.
He was being singled out.

The student was suspended and arrested for trespassing,
which suggests that he refused to leave campus after
being suspended. (School officials are not allowed to
comment.)

Maupin is President of the Phoenix chapter of
National Action Network, Sharpton`s organization,
while attending an elite private school,
St. Mary`s High. He organized a protest rally in
front of Saguaro High School.

The Saguaro student`s punishment was reduced—from three
days suspension to one.

The squeaky wheel may get the grease. But that doesn`t
mean a wrong has been made right. More often than not,
it just stops the noise.

17 year-old Jarrett Maupin is emulating his idol, Al
Sharpton, and
even refers to himself as"mini-me." Maupin became an ordained minister
at 14 and is now seeking a city council seat in next
year`s election.

It would be kind of sweet, actually…if it were not so
terrifying.

So what does America`s future hold in the way of young
political minds?

I
found a lot of truth in this—but with Maupin as the
perpetrator, not the victim.

Before transferring to St. Mary`s Maupin attended
Brophy Prep School, a private school known for its
rigorous
curriculum and impeccable community standing.

The circumstances surrounding his sudden departure seem
to be a matter of debate. In his junior year, Maupin
claims he was attending a school dance when a janitor
approached him and accosted him with
racial epithets.

He transferred to St. Mary`s—bringing several other
black students with him.

Two of them were star
basketball players. They now wished to compete
against Brophy for St.Mary`s.

But the school district has a no-compete policy. Student
athletes are prohibited from joining more than one
school team in a 12-month period.

The students were told they could not compete for
St.Mary`s until the following year.

But Maupin had a
trick up his sleeve.

According to the
New Times` Magahern:

"Maupin went to bat
for the two students and won them a hardship waiver
granting them the opportunity to try out for St. Mary`s
team based on the `extenuating circumstances` that they
had transferred not by choice, but because of a pattern
of racial harassment at Brophy.

According to Magahern, St. Mary`s is thrilled
with their new students.

"Of course, the
school—Brophy`s archrival since the late 1950s—was also
thrilled by the addition of the two star athletes Maupin
was able to win for its basketball team. In its first
game against Brophy with the addition of transferees
Whyte and Rodney Brown, St. Mary`s was able to roundly
defeat the players` former school."

Brophy is a privately-funded prep school. Unlike
parochial St. Mary`s which is funded by the diocese,
Brophy probably relies on alumni support through
athletic
booster clubs for much of its funding.

So this transfer of students probably cost Brophy in
more ways than one.

Given the nature of rivalry among
private schools,why St. Mary`s would
participate in this under-handed scheme is not the
question. The question is: how did they pull it off?

Back to Jarrett Maupin Jr.

The truth, revealed by a flood of
blog entries (hurray for the internet!) and by
letters to the New Times editor by Brophy alum:
Maupin was a sub-standard student with an unacceptable
attendance record and a flair for the dramatic.

One student
recalls a classroom incident where Maupin suggested
that pianos were racist because the white keys were
larger than the black.

In another case, Maupin suggested chalkboards were an
example of racism because they were called
blackboards even though they were green.

According to a
Brophy alum, a party not bound by privacy laws,
Maupin did not choose to transfer to St. Mary`s; he was
thrown out for his poor academic performance.

But he delivered the basketball players necessary for a
St. Mary`s victory.

What does St. Mary`s give him in exchange? Anything he
wants. Including, but not limited to:

An office in the
school`s library where he works for Al Sharpton`s
National Action Network. (He also has an office in
downtown Phoenix where he spends most of his after
school hours.)

Christine Gore, a
secretary for the school acts as Maupin`s secretary to
keep an appointment book for him and to page him when
Sharpton calls.

He uses the school`s
conference rooms and supplies to organize various
events, including protest rallies, on behalf of
National Action Network such as the one at Saguaro
High School (see above).

Bishop
Thomas J. Olmsted[email
him] with the Phoenix diocese may
not be privy to the school`s preferential treatment
policy for Maupin.

The New Times` Magahern followed Jarrett and his
family to various events, including an
MLK celebration. At this rally, Maupin`s sister was
approached their father with a friend of hers in tow—a
white girl whom Maupin`s father suspected had her sights
set on young Jarrett.

Jarrett Maupin
Sr.`s
comment: "She was at a little party we had and
was tugging at Jarrett`s shirttail, trying to get him to
come with her…Jarrett just dug his feet in the ground.
He`s too smart for that."

Of course, this may
not be ant-white racism—just politics. Maupin Sr. added
"people
still have a problem with the black man and the
white woman."